Obama's State of the Union lowest-rated since 2000

2/13/13 6:40 PM EST

33.5 million Americans watched President Obama's State of the Union address last night, the lowest turnout since President Bill Clinton's final State of the Union address in 2000, according to newly released Nielsen ratings.

Obama's totals also marked a significant decline from the first second-term addresses of his predecessors. President George W. Bush's first second-term State of the Union address, in Feb. 2005, drew 39.4 million viewers. President Clinton's first second-term address, in Jan. 1997, drew 41.1 million.

In general, viewership for Obama's State of the Union addresses has been in constant decline. He drew 52.4 million in 2009, 48.0 million in 2010, 42.8 million in 2011 and 37.8 million in 2012. His 2013 address was the second-lowest rated since Nielsen began recording viewership in 1993.

In the ratings race, NBC was number-one in total viewers and key demos among both broadcast and cable networks. The network averaged 6.469 million total viewers, topping CBS at 6.400 million, ABC at 5.494 million and Fox (not to be confused with Fox News) at 2.120 million, according to Nielsen numbers provided by NBC communications.

Despite coming in second to Fox News for total viewers on cable, CNN also had a big night, topping the key 25-54 demo and nipping at Fox News heels overall. Fox News had 3.683 million total viewers during the State of the Union address, CNN had 3.635 million, and MSNBC had 3.034 million, according to Nielsen numbers provided by CNN communications.